


To See the Sun Again

by 22FluffyTheSpider123



Category: Abzû (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Post Game, Spoilers, diver from the murals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-18 22:22:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22634164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/22FluffyTheSpider123/pseuds/22FluffyTheSpider123
Summary: Post game short story where the Diver goes back into the Harvester to recover the remains of the diver from the murals.
Relationships: The Diver & The Great White Shark
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	To See the Sun Again

The Diver could sense as well as see the life returning to the previously dying ocean, as she and the Shark swam around above the now dormant Harvester. All the remaining life essence the massive machine had been draining from the ocean was now being released, and Diver watched as she swam around with the Shark as the fauna and flora were restored all round them.

At long last, the balance was restored. Her primary objective had been completed.

And yet, Diver did not yet feel fully at peace.

During her adventures, she had come across many ruins filled with murals from the people who came before. One such mural had depicted another diver much like herself alongside the Harvester.

Diver had known at the time it wasn’t her. She had no memory from before waking up in the ocean. All she knew at the time was she had to return that which had been taken. A task she had not fully understood until she came across the first Temple.  
She had wondered for some time after leaving the murals who the other diver was, what their purpose was and more importantly – what had happened to them.

It wasn’t until she found herself within the crumbling interior of the Harvester that she had discovered the dark truth.

Diver paused as she looked down to observe the great hulking mechanical mass below her. An involuntary shiver went through her at the sight of it. It was no longer functioning, given its power core had been destroyed by her and the Shark, but the memories from before were still very fresh in her mind.

She recalled she had been swimming through the corridors of the Harvester, following the trail of the Shark who had entered before her. Eventually she found herself in an antechamber filled with creepy mechanical eels that followed her around wherever she went. She didn’t like how they seemed to be observing her, almost as if they were waiting for a command to act from an unknown source. It made her nervous, especially given the violent nature of the other constructs that emanated from this place. She remembered the painful sting of the bombs all too well.

After viewing the holograms, of which she was surprised to find an image of herself she had made to leave when a faint glint from her immediate right caught her eye, and she turned her head.

What she saw sent chills throughout her entire body.

It was a skeleton. A mechanical skeleton, very much like the one she saw in the hologram of herself before. As she approached, turning on her head lights to see better she saw that it was also missing its head.

She slowly came to the horrifying realisation that she was currently looking at the remains of the previous diver from the murals. She reached out a hesitant hand toward the frail skeletal body before her and a great sadness filled her entire being.

Another one her own kind. Destroyed and remains cruelly desecrated and left to rot here in the heart of this massive machine.

_What happened here?_

She wished she knew. She had hoped that she could perhaps glean some sort of information from the cold remains but as she rested her hand on the body, she could sense nothing.

Whatever life there once was, was now long gone.

Diver lowered her head slightly. She knew very little about this other diver. What little she did know of them was what she had seen in the ancient murals. They had worked alongside the Harvester in the past, with the previous diver ensuring the Harvester never took too much of the precious life essence.

Clearly that arrangement had not worked out in the Harvester’s favour, and so it had taken matters into its own hands.

_What a terrible place to die_ Diver thought sadly as she lay a gentle hand on the skeleton’s chest. _They deserved better than this._

A faint buzz from behind snapped Diver from her thoughts, causing her to flinch as she quickly turned her head around.

The eels that were following her before were now floating stock still and watching her intensely with their single eyed gaze.

A sudden chill crept into Diver’s core. She became painfully aware of the remains next to her, that she still had her hand rested on.

_Did they do this?_ She wondered, observing the mechanical eels before her warily. She could see no signs of weaponry on them. They appeared to be nothing more than maintenance robots.

But the way they were observing her now was giving her a strong sense of danger. They may look harmless, but Diver figured if need be, they could be very deadly.

The remains beside her were good evidence of that possible fact.

After a few seconds of staring, the Diver finally found the courage to move again. She slowly moved her hand away from the metal skeleton and twitched her fins slightly to put a little distance between her and the eels.

She jolted when the eels suddenly moved but relaxed slightly when they moved smoothly away from her, their long slithery bodies relaxed and no longer rigid. However, they stayed nearby, always keeping her within their sights.

Diver knew she couldn’t stay here for much longer. They obviously had not liked her investigating the remains of her predecessor, and she feared if she did not move on soon there wouldn’t be anything left of her except her own headless skeleton.

With one final mournful glance to the other diver – one she saw out the corner of her eye did not go unnoticed by the eels – she moved away and headed back toward the exit, to face the Harvester’s core, silently promising she would return for the deceased diver later should her current mission succeed.

Diver rubbed her arms, another shiver running through her form as she remembered those final moments in the Harvester. How the Shark had attacked its core and how in retaliation the core had released a powerful and deadly electronic pulse, partially destroying her outer form and killing the Shark’s mortal body.

It had been the most painful thing she’d ever experienced. Both physically and mentally.

The Shark – now restored to its full strength of course – as if sensing her distress swam up beside her and nuzzled her gently on the side of her head, bringing her back out of those dark memories.

Diver’s eyes crinkled in her way of a smile and she rested a hand on the Sharks head. She looked back at the Harvester.

The remains of that other diver were still in there, she was certain of that. Locked away in that dark and dreadful room filled with the very things that likely had brought about their end.

She felt the sadness fill her core again. As much as she loathed the idea of going back into the Harvester, she found she could no longer bear the thought of leaving the other divers remains in there. Turning her head, she chirruped to the Shark beside her, and sent her feelings across through their bond hoping it would pick up on her thoughts.

It seemed to work as the Shark shuddered suddenly and let out a low growl. She sensed that it didn’t agree with her plan. Diver sensed it too wished to stay far away from the structure’s interior. A feeling she shared, but this was something she felt she had to do, and she sent that feeling through to the Shark.

The Shark let out another growl, quieter this time, and Diver sensed its reluctant agreement, but it would not follow her inside. Though that message did carry a faint underlining of it would follow her in should it sense she was in any danger. Diver smiled with her eyes, grateful for its concern, and she reassured the Shark she would be fine before removing her hand from the Shark and swimming down to where the Harvester’s entrance was.

The entrance to the Diver’s relief was still open. The structure loomed above her ominously, but this time there was no red glow from within. Only the darkness awaited her. She felt a small nudge at her fin and Diver turned to see the Shark just behind her. It must had decided to follow her only this far. With a smile, Diver gave the Shark one final reassuring pat, before turning and swimming into the murky darkness of the giant structure.

With no lights to help her see, Diver activated her head lights as she made her way through the corridors. There was not a sound to be heard anywhere and yet somehow that was even more disconcerting than before when it was still alive and running.  
It didn’t help that it was near pitch black everywhere her lights didn’t shine. For all she knew, those creepy eels could still be hiding in the darkness and watching her with those eerie gazes.

She tried not to think about it.

It took a lot longer to navigate the corridors this time around given the lack of light, and her sudden new-found anxiety of mechanical eels in the dark which she is most definitely _not_ thinking about right now.

The bombs that had littered the pathways before were now dormant thankfully, though she still gave them a wide berth when passing them. Just to be safe.

Eventually Diver finally found the antechamber after what felt like an eternity of wandering. She inwardly hoped the Shark wasn’t getting too worried about her as she took in her surroundings. She supressed another shiver.

If the antechamber was creepy before, it was even more so now.

It was eerily silent. Well the entire construct was silent but somehow it was even more so in this particular room.

Perhaps something to do with the fact it was currently functioning more as a tomb than a data room now. The thought made her uncomfortable.

Diver slowly swam into the room, darting her eyes around for any signs of those eels. So far, she had not spotted them, and that was equal parts a relief and a concern.

However, as she made her way further in and towards the exit on the other side where the body of the other diver lay off to the right, she saw a familiar sleek shape suddenly come into view. Very close view.

She jolted chirruping in alarm as she flicked her fins sharply to dart back, completely caught off guard as one of the mechanical eels appeared out of the darkness and into the light emanating from her head lights.

Despite her panic Diver quickly noticed it was not moving, and after a moment had passed her thrumming core slowed as she realised the eel was no longer functioning. It was hovering limply in the water, its bio luminescent lights faded and entirely lifeless.  
Just like everything else on the Harvester, when the main core was taken out everything else – except Diver who had a power source of her own connected to the spirit world – was shut down. Including the mechanical eels.

If Diver was capable of breathing, she would have let out a long sigh of relief as she realised there was no longer a risk of danger. However, she made sure to give the mechanical eel a wide berth as she had done with the bombs before.

The dead diver’s body was still exactly where she had left it before. It looked as though the eels hadn’t interfered with it since Diver’s last visit, of which she was glad for. A small part of her had worried that by drawing the eel’s attention to the body, would have prompted them to destroy the remaining parts left behind. Thankfully that was not the case.

Seeing the remains again still filled Diver’s core with sadness. Like this, they looked so small. So frail. They wouldn’t have been during life of course but seeing them now… seeing their remains in a place such as this. It felt terribly wrong. And very sad.

With the greatest care she could muster, Diver gently took the skeletal body in her arms and lifted them up. The body felt practically weightless but was settled quite safely in her arms. Not missing a beat, Diver quickly turned and headed back out the way she came back in, not looking back.

It was quicker finding her way out than it had been going in, but Diver had more pressing matters at hand than worrying about eels in the dark. Knowing they had been deactivated upon the Harvester’s destruction had eased that worry from her mind anyway, so it was no longer a great concern.

The Shark was still waiting for her outside as she finally left the Harvester behind. She took a moment to pause and take in the sights and sounds around her, relieved to finally be free of the dark internal structure. The Shark circled her slowly, curiously observing the small skeletal figure resting in her arms. Looking down at it, Diver felt the sadness coil around her chest again but this time she pushed it down as she swam up to the top of the Harvester, the Shark following alongside.

The suns rays shone through the surface of the water above and around them. Diver took the moment to enjoy the scenery and the warmth of the sun, while also inwardly wanting the small body in her arms to feel the same after not having done so for a very long time.

She cast her eyes around and quickly located a spot in the centre of the Harvester’s roof among the flora and fauna where she decided would be perfect place for what she had in mind. She swam down, the Shark still following close behind as she approached the small clearing among the corals and vines growing from the Harvester’s roof. She lay the other diver down gently to one side and dug a small trench in the seagrass covered sand before lifting and placing the skeletal body into the hole. After a moments consideration she also moved the deceased diver’s hands onto its chest. Satisfied, Diver moved back and observed her work.

The other diver looked far more peaceful this way. In the Harvester it was laid out roughly, as though it had died fighting. Or whilst trying to escape…

But here lying among the grassy sand, surrounded by flora and colourful fish on top of the very Harvester it had once worked alongside many eons ago it looked as though it was finally at peace. And perhaps in some way, its spirit was too.

There were of course plenty of other places Diver could have taken their body to be laid to rest. But this felt more fitting. She continued to observe the other diver for a long moment, a strong feeling of relief and content washing over her, though a little sadness still lingered. But she knew the feeling would pass in time.

The Shark gently bumped its head against her arm, drawing Diver from her thoughts. She placed a hand on the Shark, and she sensed a feeling of comfort from it. She smiled with her eyes and sent back her own. The Shark let out a low purr like rumble before turning to swim away from Diver, but not before sending through one final thought through their bond.

_It is time to go._

Diver chirruped her response in confirmation. The Shark was right. Now her tasks here had been completed, there was no longer a reason for them to stay. There were still other places in the ocean to tend to after all. Although the balance was restored there would still be areas elsewhere that would need her aid in recovering.

Plus, there was still much of the ocean she had yet to see and explore. So many wonders and secrets waiting to be found. And she wouldn’t be alone this time, with the Shark sticking by her side.

She cast one final glance at the other diver. She believed it’s what they would have wanted too. So, in memory of them, and for the sake of the ocean they were both created to protect she would continue her journey.

Satisfied, and with one final chirrup of farewell, Diver turned and followed her Shark companion, leaving the other diver resting peacefully atop the Harvester behind, and on towards a new adventure.

**Author's Note:**

> I got the inspiration for this story when a while back while i was playing Abzu [I came across the remains](https://bloo-the-dragon.tumblr.com/post/188103333044/bloo-the-dragon-so-im-playing-abzu-again-and) of another Diver in the hologram room with the mechanical eels. I figured it to be the previous Diver from the murals, though its not been confirmed anywhere else. It made me sad to think it would be left in there so i wrote this little short.
> 
> Some small chapter notes:
> 
> \- The Diver is able to communicate with the Shark via touch - usually through her hands. Since she is able to control larger fish by touching them i figured it would be something like she's sending signals to them telling them where to go. With the Shark its more a two way system though given the Shark's spirituality and intellect.
> 
> \- I made the Diver female because after doing some research on the official website on the making of Abzu, i learned the team used female pronouns for the Diver. I already saw her as female before, but it was a pleasant surprise to find.
> 
> \- I like to think it would take time for the ocean to be restored to its former state, and the Diver with the ability to transfer the blue spirit goo from elsewhere (before it was the Harvester now i'm going to say its the spirit realm itself) she would be able to restore certain areas still lacking in life.
> 
> That's it for the notes. Thankyou for reading i hope you enjoyed it.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [To Be Made Whole Again](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25723666) by [ThatDarnLakeSiren](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatDarnLakeSiren/pseuds/ThatDarnLakeSiren)




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